


Your Protector

by aluinihi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Fluff and Angst, Lance centred, M/M, mermaid au, mermaid!Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 06:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16131707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aluinihi/pseuds/aluinihi
Summary: When Lance told dad about the fish-boy, he was grounded and left without dinner that night.





	Your Protector

**Author's Note:**

  * For [solariaes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/solariaes/gifts).



> *slowly approaches the vld fandom* Hey!   
> This is my first Klance, and I hope you enjoy it :) English is not my native language, so please warn me of any mistakes!
> 
> This was (half)based on [Your Protector by Fleet Foxes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDxtDSSaRB0)

Lance would much rather be sailing at the moment. His father told him to stay on the shore today and help his sisters with the week’s laundry, but he ran away as soon as he woke up. It would probably get him grounded but anything was better than sitting on the lake listening to _girly gossip_.

He liked to walk on the small beach on the southwest of the island. Mostly because it was empty – except for the occasional crab fishers – and also because it had a lot of rocks, allowing small creatures swim between the underwater holes. The waves made _swish-swish_ and during the summer the cicadas made _chirp-chirp;_ Lance liked to imitate both of the sounds when he needed to calm down. It also seemed as if the sand there was softer and colder, so he liked to wriggle his feet and let the feel sooth him from the heat.

They said it had cursed waters, that fish were not the only beings inhabiting the area. The folk people liked to tell stories about the monsters that eat human flesh, but Lance did not believe them. He was not a kid anymore, he was eleven years old! He was old enough to go inside the boat, so he knew nothing of that was real.

Therefore, it felt like a dream when Lance saw _him._

He was a boy, like Lance. He looked eleven too, maybe twelve, with wavy black hair going a little bit down his shoulders. He was fair skinned just like the people that gave money to dad to take them to the beaches on the nearby islands, but he had funny pointy eyes that Lance had not seen in anyone before. There were a few scars on his back and even fresh, bleeding marks.

What truly startled Lance though was that he had no legs. Or maybe he had and was hiding them underneath the redfish scales that formed his… tail? Lance was not sure anymore. He was going to ask, about the legs and the scales and why he’d let his hair grow like a girl’s, but the fish-boy dived into the water before he’d had the chance.

When Lance told dad about the fish-boy, he was grounded _and_ left without dinner that night.

 

* * *

 

 

Lance was hiding. He did not want to be around when mom was crying, because mom had never cried before and Lance did not know what to do. Usually, when he cried, she would kiss his cheeks and whisper _swish_ _swish_ until he calmed down enough to tell her what had happened. But no one was whispering to her or kissing her cheeks today. They were all just looking at her somberly and saying _I’m sorry_ as if it was their fault or something. Lance did not understand adults at all.

So he went to the beach. He'd found out the name of it – because of course, it had _a name_ , people always liked to name things even that were not theirs, like a _beach_. It was called _The Green Shore_ beach and it was another adult-thing that Lance did not understand: the shore was not made of greens but of yellowish-white sand. Maybe calling it _The Yellowish-White Sand Shore_ was too big of a name, so they settled for green instead.

It was summer and the air was warm, but the water was cold, cold, _cold_. The lower temperature was good news, said the older fishermen, since it brings more fish to the fishing nets. Lance wasn’t there to fish though, so he took his clothes off and went for a swim. Or better yet, he just went far enough into the sea for the water to hit just right above his lips.

He stood there, letting his toes and fingers lose sensibility and watching the creatures swim around him as if he was part of the scenario. He came here so many times that he _felt part of the scenario_.

Lance recognized the boy-fish lurking from the rocks a few meters away.  He was hiding too, the water up to his nose and his eyes staring at the human. They’ve been doing this for a whole year now which meant they were friends now, weren’t they? Lance liked to think so since he had never had a friend for such a long time.

They still haven't talked. Boy-fish was shy and he always kept a big distance between them. Lance tried to approach him before, even tried to play splashing water with him, but boy-fish just stared at him.

Today he was being very brave though. He kept swimming closer and closer, his head poking from underwater all the time. Closer and closer and closer…

“You’re crying.”

It wasn’t a question. Lance wanted him to go away.

“My dad is gone.”

Boy-fish stood (that is if one could _stand_ with a tail) the same height as Lance, brows furrowed and wet black hair sticking to his forehead.

“Gone how…?”

Lance gulped.

“He died yesterday on a shipwreck.”

The creature gave an understanding _hum_ and nodded. He didn’t say _I’m sorry_ and Lance would be eternally grateful for that.

“My dad died too, but it was years ago.”

They stared at each other, purple into blue into hearts. When his cheeks begun to heat Lance looked down, but boy-fish lowered himself to keep eye contact.

“What’s your name?”

“Lance.”

“Nice, I’m Keith.” The smile was sweet and warm and inviting. “Wanna play _splash_?”

Lance smiled back and wiped his cheeks.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith was supposed to be on the rocks already. Summer had begun and with it came the best season for fishing, and Keith had _promised him_ they would cross the Blue Bay together. Lance had been sitting on the sand since 6 a.m. and it was 9 now and he wanted to swim. And tell Keith land things, and hear Keith telling about sea things.

It wasn't like Lance missed him, but definitely he missed him. They'd been friends for years now and Keith knew so much about him, even if the mermen spent nine months away traveling with his pack. The summer was _theirs_ and it had begun _two days ago_ and if Keith did not show up today Lance was going to kick him. He had no idea if Keith had balls, so he would have to settle for a solid foot to the guts.

Lance had been trying to get a job. His family was big: mother, who was in no health to work, the sisters and his older bro. Usually, the girls would run around the village offering housework and Lance would go to the docks to carry the boats’ cargo. Although they got a bit of money, Miguel was the house’s main source of income; he sailed with the tourists and gained a lot. But Miguel was currently engaged to the neighbor's daughter, he would soon start providing for her and their future kids and no longer for his siblings. Lance was 15 now; he had to find stable work with a sailor or a fisherman to put food on their table.

He wished he could be like Keith, swimming all over the vast blue ocean, swishing a shining tail and discovering treasures. His friend had told him many stories about sunken ships and dangerous creatures that lurked in the waters, leaving him both scared and longing. Lance wished he could go, submerge into the depths of the world and live fantastic adventures with him.

Lance was aware that he couldn’t, though. He couldn’t tell anyone about Keith, never mind telling his mom that he was going to travel with him. Keith was a being that scared fishermen, sailors, and housewives waiting for their husbands to come back from the sea. People thought he was a monster. Lance, on the other hand, thought he was just an idiot with a mullet.

In a split of second, Lance was wet. All over. And it startled him so much because this was no beach for waves. He had started scrambling to get on his feet and go back to land when a laugh pierced through his ears.

In the end, Keith _is_ just an idiot with a mullet.

“Yeah, yeah, you got me, Fish-Boy.” More _splash_ and laughter. “Seriously, Keith, this ain’t as funny as it used to be.”

The mermen smirked.

“That’s ‘cause you didn’t see your face!”

Lance kicked water in Keith’s direction and the creature just avoided it.

“We going, then?”

Lance grinned. “Damn straight.”

The boy jumped into the sea, and the other swam cheerfully around him. Lance circled Keith shoulders with his arms and then his waist with his legs, pressing himself against the creature’s back. The wet black hair stuck to Lance’s cheek, but he couldn’t care less. He took a deep breath – Keith smelled like salt and sun and freedom, and Lance _knew_ this day would be perfect – and the other dived in headed for their island.

Keith had found their island three years ago and had taken Lance there to show his discovery. It had more rocks than sand, small and ugly, so there were no stupid tourists and no one would ever see them there.  It wasn't   _their island_ since it was Nature’s and they vowed never to name it, but they called it theirs because they wanted it – and isn’t _want_ the best way to _have_?

Whenever Lance opened his eyes underwater, all he could see was turquoise. He could feel Keith's muscles moving while he swam, he could feel the water in an almost painful way due to their speed. It was the most natural thing by now, holding onto his friend while crossing the Blue Bay. Each minute, Keith would emerge so that Lance could take another breath, and then dive again. The rhythm was already within them as if they were just one being. 

They were good together, and that’s exactly how it was meant to be.

 

* * *

 

 

Lance would much rather be on the shores at the moment. When he was a kid, he dreamt of being a fisherman. He wanted to sail the open sea, to unravel a new world that for a boy who had never left the Island sounded like a free pass to paradise. Lance wanted to be an adventurer and to come back home bringing treasures and food for the month. That was years ago though. Nowadays, his mother was ill and Veronica was crying every night before she went to work – and these were the only things he could think about as the ship sunk.

There was water everywhere and no land in sight. Lance knew that home was south since they had been sailing north since yesterday's morning, but with skies turned dark and seas turned evil the fact was pretty much useless. Many men had abandoned ship when it started to crumble, and the captain had screamed for him to leave, to try and save himself. Lance knew it wouldn’t have made a difference in the end because by now all of them were dead.

Ha had heard the stories. His father had told him some even, of feral tempests and overpowering winds. He had told him about the five stages of grief and how they went so fast through your heart when you were the one dying. _The captain sinks with his ship_ , he had said, _Just as lioness dies for her cub._

And Lance believed his father died holding _Mother Maria_ ’s mast.

The waves made _crash crash_ and the boat made _creak creak_ and Lance punched the wooden floor. He remembered Keith whispering about storms, how much they scared him and the words the mermaids sung to make the fear go away. Mermaids couldn’t drown though and Lance could, so he couldn’t sing. And besides, he wasn’t scared at all.

He screamed instead. Fell to his knees, threw his arms to the sky and screamed the names of all the ones he loved – mom, and sisters and Miguel and _Keith_. His hair was sticking to his face and the water came up to his hips and at that moment Lance was ready for whatever destiny guarded him. There he stood, before Nature and Ocean _and God if there is one_ , and this is it, this is it.

A wave towered over him and what was left of the boat. It was tall, so tall that Lance was sure if he climbed he would reach the clouds. The captain shrieked and then it was all black.

He was floating or flying, he couldn’t know for sure. He couldn't hear or see anything, but he was cold, cold, cold like the summer currents or the sand after rain. Lance moved his arms around, and he couldn't reach the boat, or the shores, or his dad, even though he was sure everything surrounded him.

Fingers were curling around his ankles, just like seaweeds curled around the docks. They pulled him down, or maybe it was up, but who could care. Then the hands released him and came to rest around his neck, a soft and lulling caress. Lips caught his and Lance was _falling_. He'd wanted this, longed for this since he'd learned that mouths have other purposes besides eating.

Lance opened his eyes to amethyst ones. He could see the nuances of the color: it turned darker around the edges and the pupil, almost black, but its main tone was still a strong greyish-lilac. He had freckles; only a few but he had and at this distance the fisherman could count them as they spilled over high cheekbones, forming skin constellations. Lance had always wanted to touch those lips, so he did; first with his fingers and then once again with his own.

Lance took a deep breath and Keith smelled like salt and sun and freedom.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://aluinihi.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
